It is difficult to fully understand substance abuse. Discovering why one person develops a problem with drugs or alcohol and another person does not is something of a mystery. However, there are some similarities in the person's path that develops substance abuse. The difficult part with this is that every stage of a person's path who is suffering from substance abuse causes more consequences and chaos.
One problem with substance abuse is that it doesn't solely affect the person with the issue. Instead, it will affect their loved ones and others that they come in contact with. This could mean that it will not only affect the person's family, but their coworkers and neighbors as well.
What is Substance Abuse?
One thing to keep in mind is that substance abuse is a brain disease. …show more content…
For example, it is helpful to learn about the stages of use as well as the recovery process. During this time, family members should also learn more about how to prevent relapse as well as the cravings that the person will feel. Studying the treatment process and how to get the person into a treatment program is also important.
Costs of Substance abuse
The costs of substance abuse are great and they aren't only emotional. Along with the costs associated with the drug or alcohol product of choice, there are also other monetary items to consider. Every year, it is estimated that substance abuse creates well over $600 billion annually. These costs include the money spent on the products, costs related to crime and health care costs.
These numbers, however, do not fully show the damage that is created by substance abuse. Substance abuse also causes issues with child abuse and family problems. Safety issues are also a major cost of substance abuse. This lack of safety could be presented both to the person abusing alcohol or drugs, their family or even the general